Beauprez managed to evade his questioners, although he did say that the race -- hypothetically speaking, of course -- will be a costly one, since Bennet has already raised millions. But it's also one of the few Senate seats that could really be in play in 2010, which makes it a very valuable commodity to the Republican National Party. And while Colorado's gubernatorial race already has two competitive candidates in Scott McInniss and Josh Penry, the prospective GOP Senate candidates -- Weld County DA Ken Buck and Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier -- may be interesting personalities, but neither have the sort of national profiles that could attract big bucks.

The national profile of a former congressman like Beauprez, for example.

Of course, Beauprez didn't do all that well when he ran against Bill Ritter in 2006. But there have to be times -- like today, for example, the day state department heads are supposed to give Ritter their ideas for how to cut 10 percent from their budgets, the better to bridge that almost billion-dollar gap projected over the next two years -- when Ritter probably wishes Beauprez had done a lot better.

In comparison, today's Denver City Council meeting should be a real lovefest, particularly since Chris Loffelmacher's Knitting For Our Troops project will be saluted with a public proclamation; council will also be considering the Coors Field view plane proposal. The ride could get rougher on Thursday, July 23, when the city will host a Q&A session on the proposed redevelopment of Union Station and the related transportation plans. The discussion starts at 5:30 p.m. at the Oxford Hotel.

All aboard!

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